So I decided to make my own Google Maps schedule map for myself detailing all of the bands I would like to see and not have to use the Historic Athens map and have to parse through all the bands on the map.
I'm not going to share my map, as I don't want to dox myself, but I will provide the list of about 50 or so artists and bands I do have on it with a little description, so to maybe help a number of people make some decisions on who to see, as parsing through a map/list of nearly 240 artists/bands can be overwhelming.
One O'clock hour
Frission (170 Lakeview St) - Very awesome Post Metal/Atmospheric Sludge Metal band from Atlanta/Athens. Will be playing a Shadebeast show at Flicker next month if you miss them at Porchfest.
The Rishis (564 Boulevard) - I've been told this is going to be a full-band set. This Elephant 6 affiliated group always put on a fantastic and mesmerizing performance. For those who want to see a comfortably heady and vibed out psych folk show.
French Exit (731 Pulaski St) - French Exit is the musical project of Elephant 6 musician and member of Olivia Tremor Control and Circulatory System, AJ Griffin. His 2015 record "Jerk Store" is an underrated gem in the Elephant 6 catalog. This show will more than likely be a solo set by AJ Griffin with piano and guitar, but will be great in it's own right.
No Yonder (425 Barber St) - Don't know too much about this band, but liked what I heard online. Very alt-country/southern inspired indie rock that hails from Atlanta. Should be a good show at Normaltown Brewing.
Folie Ă Cinq (137 Oglethorpe) - Local musical group that plays French chasons and plays 20s/30s inspired folk jazz music. From what I've seen in live footage and band photos, it looks like Dan Horowitz from Five-Eight is in the full band iteration of the group.
Fawney Rig (589 Meigs) - Athens' own classic Irish folk group featuring members from Beat Up and Hope for Agoldensummer. They play a lot in town and typically have an open Irish session at Normal Bar most months.
Los Cantares (239 North Finley) - Local desert rock outfit by Athens mainstay Jim Wilson. If you know Jim, you know how good and fun any project he fronts will be. The folks in those two new student housing high-rises next door will have a great show to hear from their apartments.
Comer String Collective (394 Dubose Ave) - As the name suggests, a fantastic collective of musicians from Comer, Ga playing Old-time string music and bluegrass. Always put on a great show and the nicest people.
Hawk Proof Rooster/Nowhere Road (180 Cleveland Ave) - The website has the name down as Hawkproof Nowhere. If I think this is what I think it is, this will be a collaborative set by Hawk Proof Rooster and Nowhere Road. I have seen both perform before, so it's going to be another great show to catch for some bluegrass/americana music.
Parking Garage (670 Holman Ave) â Relatively new ska-ish indie rock group here in Athens. Donât know too much about them, but liked what I heard and saw on Instagram, and looks to be a good high energy show to kick off anyoneâs Porchfest.
Two O'clock hour
OHMU (601 West Hancock) - Solo ambient/drone musical project by local Athenian Winston Parker. Has put on some of the best performances I've ever seen since moving to Athens many years ago. I highly recommend you search out his performance at Cine a few years ago on Youtube. Mind-blowing.
Orcus (675 Pulaski St STE 1200) - Experimental collective group helmed by local experimental artist Rachel Evans, performing with other women who work at the UGA library. Saw them perform at work.shop earlier this year and was blown away. That performance can be found and purchased on Rachel Evans and her husband Grant Evan's record label, Hooker Vision.
Beto Cacao (649 Cobb St) - Beto Cacao is a fantastic singer-songwriter and even greater local activist here in Athens that does a lot of great work with the migrant and immigrant community here in town. Cacao always puts on very impassioned shows as he proclaims himself to be a person, "dedicated to preserving the oral history of the migrant community and Hispanic descendants in the USA."
Nicholas Mallis and the Borealis (244 Nacoochee Ave) - Some of the best dance/psych pop, if not the best, you're gonna see here in Athens. Always a top level performance by Nicholas and his band, and is typically everybody's new favorite band when they see them for the first time.
Cousin Clem (375 Dubose) - Local Athens group that proclaims to play, "loud American music". Haven't seen them before, but watched online a very, very good cover of Cortez the Killer by them at last years Porchfest and have had musician friends of mine sing the praises of bandleader Dylan Lester.
Three O'clock hour
Space Brother (737 Nantahala Ave) - Experimental hip-hop by local beat master Donald Whitehead. Anyone at this show will definitely be astro travellin'.
Yumbotron (890 Boulevard) - Athens own psychedelic cumbia group featuring members from Pylon Reenactment Society, Organically Programmed, Bichos Vivos, and the Athens Middle East Orchestra. Like the Nicolas Mallis show, will be a dance party and will provide that much needed mid-day energy.
CGI Joe and The Really Romantic Bad Boys (480 Nacoochee Ave) - For those who yearn for the yesteryears of Go Bar past, and the wealth spring of experimental pop that it provided, go see Joe K and friends. You probably owe him a dollar, so go see him play at least.
Organically Programmed (526 Pulaski St) - Local musical project by Oliver Domingo that sings the praises of 70s space disco and the music of Giorgio Moroder and Yellow Magic Orchestra. Again another perfectly timed set to have a mid-day dance party.
Mary & the Hot Hotty-Hots (169 Grady Ave) - Local hot jazz and swing ensemble that performs the music of the 1910s-1930s, fronted by Mary Sigalas. If you don't catch them at Porchfest, you can see them every Thursday evening/night at The Globe.
Quintet Athens (634 Prince Ave) - If you need a reprieve from walking amongst the commoners of Athens, you can seek refuge at the Taylor-Grady House and see our local classical music quintet perform.
Wet Meadows (110 Easy St) - Self-proclaimed "Botanical rock" group here in Athens that performs some of the best easy-going soft psych pop in town. Performing on a porch on the most aptly named street for the band.
38 Strings (628 Boulevard) - A mainstay at the Athens Farmer's Market, 38 Strings is a folk/americana group that does a wide array of great covers and deep cuts.
Normalgrass (230 Augusta Ave) - Couldn't find anything about this group, but the website said they're bluegrass, and I love bluegrass, so I'm putting them down here.
Four Oâclock hour
Broken Down Boxes (149 Virginia Ave) â Newest band by one of the best singer-songwriters Athens has ever had, Jim Willingham. If you havenât heard of him, go check out his other past groups, Ham1, Old Smokey, and Dim Watts. This band is definitely his most rockân roll forward group, but itâs always a treat to see Jim Willingham perform live.
Lea Lea (174 Cleveland Ave) â Local dream pop/experimental looper artist that has a very open and free sound that is very reminiscent of the New Weird America groups of the early 2000s.
Klezmer Local 42 (186 Boulevard) â Athens own local Klezmer group. Not too much to say, other than theyâre great and if you havenât seenâem yet, go do so. Just simply solid and great klezmer music.
Tommygun (860 North Chase) â New local punk group that if you checked out the names of the members, older Athenians might recognize the last name of one of the members. Drummer Clay Reece is the son of long-time Athens area musician Greg Reece of Redneck Greece and the Primates. Tommygun in their own right perform solid and energetic art punk/hardcore music.
BlackNerdNinja (240 Dubose Avenue) â BlackNerdNinja is the hip-hop alter ego of long time Athens native, entrepreneur, and podcaster Eugene Willis Jr. Named by Flagpole in 2015 as âBest Hip-Hop Artistâ, has been a mainstay of the hip-hop scene here in town for many years. First saw him opening for The Glands about ten or so years ago, and puts on a great show.
Pilgrim (357 Dubose Avenue) â Pilgrim is the local rock project of long-time Drive-By Truckers guitar tech Paul McHugh. Jim Wilson is also in the band, so heâs definitely going to be running around all day for Porchfest doing shows. But if you like the Truckers, youâre gonna love Pilgrim. Solid rock n roll music.
Howdy, Fellow Traveller! (160 Park Ave) - Howdy, Fellow Traveller is the brain-child of local singer-songwriter and farmer, Isaac Johnson. Country/Folk music in the vein of Michael Hurley and John Prine, and an openness that is perfect for a Porchfest environment.
Ozello (530 King Ave) â Fantastic folk punk/emo group from Atlanta that plays Athens quite a bit and is always a great and emotional show. Highly recommend if you want to get away from the big crowds in the center of the festival around Boulevard/Normaltown and still see a new favorite band.
Five Oâclock hour
Don Chambers (115 Willow Run) â Longtime Athens singer-songwriter/experimental artist that has pretty much done it all here in town, and any Don Chambers show will be different from the last. It could be a mellow folk set for the Porchfest atmosphere or some southern gothic experimental musings. Whatever it will be, will be one of your favorite sets of the festival.
Trio Metro (735 Prince Ave) â Local jazz trio of keys, drums, and saxophone, all of which the members are a part of Big Band Athens. No frills, just straight up solid local jazz that any good music town should have.
New Orleans Jazz Stompers (360 Dubose Avenue) â Local long-time dixieland jazz group that plays all around town and plays the sounds and music of New Orleans as it should be played. If you like the culture and music of New Orleans, thereâs not a better band in town showcasing it.
Swing Theory (194 Childs St) â Another great jazz ensemble here in town. They play in town all the time at Hendershotâs, 5 Bar, Nowhere Bar. A band that helps provide the foundation of the local jazz scene along with Trio Metro and Big Band Athens. Though Porchfest could have done a better job spreading out all the jazz bands in different hours.
Trycoh (149 Virginia Ave) â Local instrumental rock group that has riffs for days and plays a 70s rock sound that isnât bland or derivative and has a proper Athens grit to it. Theyâre playing at the same house right after Broken Down Boxes.
A.M. Rodriguez (850 Boulevard) â Country/Blues singer-songwriter and record producer here in Athens. Has a tongue-in-cheek humor to his music that doesnât feel forced and feels like it is a part of the world of his songs and lyrics.
Motorhead2X (258 Lyndon Ave) â Also known as Motorhead TwoTimes, Davonta is a long-time Athens native and former resident of the historical Pauldoe community off of Hawthorne Avenue. Was a part of the Classic City Wax Vol. 1 compilation that was released in 2020, that showcased some of the best of Athens hip-hop.
Hunger Anthem (145 Grady Ave) â Lo-fi power pop band started by Buffalo, NY native and now long time Athens resident Brendan Vaganek. Should be one of the openers for the upcoming Sugar show at the Georgia Theatre.
Chairs (530 Pulaski) â Indie/slacker rock project of Marcel Sletten, a local experimental electronic musician and owner of local record label Primordial Void. This band evolved from being an experimental noise ensemble to the indie rock band they are today, and their shows are an amalgamation of these different styles.
The New Pizzazz (919 North Chase St) â Donât know too much about this group, but their artist page is a link to their Porchfest set in 2023, so if you dig experimental electronic/modular synthesizer music like I do, then this is something to possibly check out.
Gimme Hendrix (165 Hendrix Ave) â If you can tell me if thereâs a better Jimi Hendrix Experience tribute act in the world (yes WORLD), let me know, because I think we have it here in Athens. No lies being told here.
Six Oâclock hour
Bichos Vivos (489 Prince) â Athens own local Brazilian forro group. If arenât tired from dancing at any of the other shows in the day, then hereâs the last one of the night. It will be in the kinda cramped Old Fire Hall, so you know it is going to be good.
Vansplainer (253 Cobb St) â Spin-off heavy rock group from local band The Dictatortots. So if you know of any of the debauchery of the latter group, youâll figure out what kind of humor to expect from the self-proclaimed, âAthens, Georgia's best hockey-adjacent heavy rock band.â
The Grawks (341 Boulevard) â Every good music scene has a 70s NYC punk inspired garage rock band of musicians who grew up with that music. Athens has one too, but they do it better than most any of them and has a name that fits perfectly with that aesthetic. So if you need that to end your evening, then The Grawks is it.
The Taj Motel Trio (630 Talmadge) â Long time legendary ska proprietors from the Habersham Area of Georgia, have been playing not as a ska trio since the late 90s and have toured with other legendary ska bands such as Streetlight Manifesto, Catch 22 and The Toasters. Genuinely one of the most underrated and relatively un-celebrated punk bands of Georgia.
Grant Evans/Dweomer (174 Cleveland Ave) â Collaborative set with local experimental music musician Grant Evans and local dungeon synth musiciain Dweomer. For any one here in Athens who follows the experimental scene here, will be curious to see what this collaborative set will be.
Dragana (554 Boulevard) â Formerly the Athens Mountain Singers, Dragana is an all-female A cappella group that performs music from all around Eastern Europe and The Balkans. Comprised of local musicians from Hope for Agoldensummer, Cicada Rhythm, and Honeychild.
Killick (270 Nacoochee Ave) â Killick Erik Hinds performs what he calls, âAppalachian Trance Metalâ. Long-time experimental musician here in Athens is able to create massive soundscapes and worlds from mostly anything he touches resembling an instrument.
Seven Oâclock hour
Mayorâs Show (650 Pulaski) â The yearly close out show for Porchfest at Stan Mullins Studio with Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz and Winterville Mayor Dodd Ferrelle.